Sonik Synth

I wanted a VSTi that would complement my current crop of analog emulation VSTi's and also to replace my XP50 inside the PC. Sonic Synth does exactly this in a no fuss way. It's the first thing I use when starting a new project and sometimes all I'll need. If I want to sound a little more organic and synthesised then I'll add Pentagon, Junglist, Chronox etc.

GUI: 8/10
Sonic Reality had nothing to do with the design. However it's simple, functional and ...red.

SOUND: 10/10
Unlike many, I bought SS instead of ST because my personal taste leans towards 'synth' rather than 'real'. However, I do find the 'real' sounds to be more than adequate and are in the main on par with my XP50 with some sounds being far better! As for the pads these are pure lush! There are some lovely glassy and choral tones in there that are so obviously NOT 'analog' emulations.

Effects are good too with many being syncable to hosts tempo.

FEATURES: 8/10
It's a ROMpler designed for load-n-play use with a bit of tweaking allowed. So don't expect a zillion parameters. What you do get are up to 4 sensibly assigned automatable parameters per patch and up to 4 effects each with up to 5 parameters to play with.

DOCS: 9/10
You get a 'video' and a PDF but it's doubtful you'll need more than a once over as SS is real easy to use.

PRESETS: 10/10
Quantity, quality and well arranged, and if you need a particular category of sound it's probably on the way in the shape of an expansion ROM.

SUPPORT: 8/10
Feedback indicates IK support to be intermediate in some respects, however the support you'll get from Sonic Reality on their side of things is second to none.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 10/10
The price is a pittance when you realise how much work went into this hugely varied sound set. Good value for money when compared to similar hardware/ CDRom offerings.

STABILITY: 10/10
I use SS in both OrionPro 2.75 and Cubase 5.1 with no probs at all even when playing while loading.
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